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FEH/MMH As An Investment

With the Plug-In FEH that Ford and others have been testing, I see that a conversion from our non plug-in models may be possible at a reasonable cost in the future. Since I ordered the '09 FEH, I have changed my opinion about selling my '05 FEH. The fact that Ford is taking our eCVT to 120 MPG in the Plug-In FEH prototypes raises questions that future technology will lower the cost or make our FEH/MMH a good investment to convert to a Plug-In battery system in the near future.

What if all of a sudden we find the cost of fuel drives up the market on Hybrids to the point that our old FEH/MMH are worth much more by buying them and converting them to 120mpg plus hybrids! All of a sudden we have a vehicle that does not depreciate, but appreciates instead.

Now that I see the 40mph EV limit for the present Ford eCVT, I also see that battery assist to the engine can increase mileage to over 90mpg. I found this out during a highway trip at 60mph when my battery was doing a reconditioning to ~82% and then discharged using the electric motors at that speed.

We'll be THRILLED if an

We'll be THRILLED if an electric conversion comes available at a reasonable cost for FEH/MMH. It would absolutely have been our first choice RIGHT NOW if available. We have solar electric, and in a perfect world, would be charging our car on our own generated electricity. It's our sincere hope that conversions become more available, and soon.

Indeed. Plugin hybrids are

Indeed. Plugin hybrids are a great near-term solution for the energy issue. I had no idea a conversion to plugin technology was possible when I order my FEH, but if so, it would make the deal that much sweeter.

You can convert your FEH

You can convert your FEH today to a plug-in at a cost. Hybrids-Plus out of Colorado will do this for around $32,000 plus the cost of your vehicle. HEVT out of Chicago is recent newcomer to this field. Steve Woodruff out of Indiana has converted two (?) Prius to PHEV. You can look at autobeyours.com for some detailed information on what is involved. There is no easy and cheap way to convert the FEH to PHEV status at this time.

FEH are indeed a valuable

I had read at the

I had read at the Greenhybrid site (via the "Journalist poster") that Johnson Controls approached Ford Motor company late in 2007 about providing the customers with the ability to swap out the current hybrid batteries for the newer lithium ion batteries but not the plug in conversion. There would be a software "upgrade" included in this procedure that would cost around $3000.00 and would up mileage by 30%.
There would be regenerative braking effects on the SOC with this conversion. If I am not mistaken, Johnson Control did just do this conversion and showed up at the 2008 Hybridfest in Madison. If I remember correctly, the highway mileage for this Escape Hybrid (2007 model?) was reported at 42 mpg. No word from Ford if this change is forthcoming.